Katoomba Scenic World

Katoomba Scenic World is a privately owned tourist attraction located in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, about 100 kilometres west of Sydney. Scenic World is home to four attractions, of which the most famous is the Katoomba Scenic Railway. The site also includes the Katoomba Scenic Skyway, the Cableway and Katoomba Scenic Walkway a 2.4 km elevated boardwalk through ancient rainforest. Onsite facilities also include free all day parking, the largest souvenir shop in NSW and several dining outlets.OverviewRailwayThe Scenic Railway is the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, the steepest incline of 52 degrees contained within a total incline distance of 310m. It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul the coal and shale from the valley floor up to the escarpment above. From 1928 to 1945 it carried coal during the week and passengers at weekends. The coal mine was closed in 1945 after which it remained as a tourist attraction. The Scenic Railway was closed on 13 January 2013 (although the Skyway, Cableway, and Walkway remained open) as construction to upgrade both tracks and carriages began. The work was completed and the railway reopened in April 2013.SkywayBuilt in 1958 the Scenic Skyway is another cable-driven conveyance at Scenic World. It travels across the gorge above the Katoomba Falls, 270m above the valley floor. The original Scenic Sky-way was withdrawn on 4 April 2004 after 587,401 crossings and today is used as a picnic shelter. It was replaced by a new cable car in December of the same year. The new Skyway was built by Doppelmayr and CWA Constructions, and features a 72-person cabin with sections of liquid crystal glass that turns a raised section of the floor from translucent to transparent as the ride progresses. In November 2005 a second station on the opposite cliff-face opened, allowing Skyway passengers to disembark and follow bush walking trails to the nearby Echo Point.